Published: Thursday, July 18, 2013 at 10:22 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, July 18, 2013 at 10:33 p.m.

HOOVER — Alabama football coach Nick Saban was on his “A-game” at Southeastern Conference media days Thursday — as usual.

“For me personally, it’s perfect,” he said. “I had a great vacation, then, I get to come here and see 1,200 of my very closest friends all at the same time.”

The comment was steeped in sarcasm of course, and then he took another shot at the media after it had picked the Crimson Tide to win the SEC title this year.

“I know, I read and I hear how you all make predictions in what’s going to happen in the season,” Saban said. “I’d also like to make a note here that in the last 21 seasons, you as the media have only picked the right team four times to win the SEC. Now, if I was 4-17 as a coach, I would be back in West Virginia pumping my gas at my daddy’s gas station.”

Yep, just another typical media day appearance for Saban — and the media laughed right along.

Now entering his seventh season in charge at Alabama, Saban spent time answering questions ranging from defending the no-huddle offense to the demands of scheduling the right opponents. He even was asked about being compared to legendary Tide coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. He had an interesting answer for that one.

“There’s no way that we have done anything close to what he’s done in terms of his consistency over time, how he changed what he did to impact the times,” said Saban, who has won four total BCS national championships and three with Alabama. Bryant won six titles. “They threw the ball and won. They ran the wishbone and won. I mean, he changed tremendously to do what he needed to do to be successful. I don’t think that it would be fair that anyone really be compared to what he was able to accomplish, the way he did it, and how he impacted other people.”

There’s no denying the game certainly has changed since Bryant’s time, and a big difference now is the number of teams playing an up-tempo style game. Auburn coach Guz Malzahn made headlines Wednesday when he said he wanted the Tigers to play faster on offense than any other team in college football.

“I think preparation is really an important part of that,” Saban said. “When people play fast, I think it takes defensive players out of their rhythm a little bit. I think we obviously need to practice that way more often.”

But there’s another component to it. The style of offense Auburn and other teams will be playing in 2013 has its detractors.

Arkansas coach Bret Bielema said Wednesday that it affects player safety, and Saban has been critical of it in the past.

“I don’t know that there will ever be any rule changes that affect the up-tempo teams,” Saban said. “There’s only two questions that I’ve ever had (and) I don’t have the answer to these questions: Should we allow football to be a continuous game? Is that the way the game was designed to play? And the second part of it is, and I don’t have the answer to this, is an increased number of plays that players play in the game, is there any safety issues in that?

“They play like 64 plays a game in the NFL. We play over 80 in college. The up-tempo teams play even more than that.

“The cumulative effect of that is a player is playing 25, 30 more plays a game. Is there any safety issues in that?”

Scheduling also was a big topic for Saban. He’s in favor of a nine-game SEC schedule and, with the college football playoff just around the corner, he emphasized how important it was to play 10 quality opponents every year.

Earlier on Thursday, LSU coach Les Miles said scheduling should not in any way decide a championship, and every teams’ path to a title should be equal.

“Yeah, but there can never be an equal path to the championship unless everybody plays everybody,” said Saban, whose Tide will cross over to play SEC East doormats Kentucky and Tennessee this season. LSU, meanwhile, must play heavyweights Florida and Georgia. “I understand where Les Miles is coming from. I coached at LSU. We played Florida every year, too. So if anybody understands it, I understand it. You understand? Aight?

“ My question is, is do other coaches understand our circumstance?

“Do they understand Auburn-Georgia circumstance? Do they understand the other teams in our league that do have rivalries that are cherished by the fans?”

One rivalry that may be ready to take off for Alabama is against Texas A&M.

The Aggies gave the Tide their only loss last season, and offensive lineman Anthony Steen apparently hasn’t gotten over it.

“Obviously, we want to beat them by 50,” he said. “We see on TV every day that they beat us.”

A big reason for the loss was A&M quarterback and eventual 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel. The sophomore was grilled Wednesday at media days for what has been an interesting offseason, to say the least.

He left the Manning Passing Academy on Saturday under disputed circumstances. Manziel, a counselor at the camp, said he simply overslept and missed a camp activity, and camp officials couldn’t reach him because his cellphone had died.

He deflected questions Wednesday about drinking alcohol the night before he left the Manning Passing Academy, leading to speculation he was hung over — which he vehemently denied.

Another twist in the saga was that Manziel revealed that Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron was his roommate at the camp.

Manziel said Wednesday that McCarron didn’t wake him, but “I’m definitely not going to pin it on him.

“It’s my fault — 115, 120 percent.”

McCarron was asked several times Thursday why he didn’t wake Manziel.

“I can’t answer on Johnny Manziel’s part,” McCarron said. “My name’s AJ. Everything that has to do with him, he’s his own man. I’m not going to speak on another man’s business. That’s how I was raised.

“I know how I handle myself out in public, how I carry myself in front of people. That’s what I’m worried about, trying to be the best player and the best person off the field that I can be for my family and the University of Alabama. I never want to disrespect them in any way.”

<p>HOOVER — Alabama football coach Nick Saban was on his “A-game” at Southeastern Conference media days Thursday — as usual.</p><p>“For me personally, it's perfect,” he said. “I had a great vacation, then, I get to come here and see 1,200 of my very closest friends all at the same time.”</p><p>The comment was steeped in sarcasm of course, and then he took another shot at the media after it had picked the Crimson Tide to win the SEC title this year.</p><p>“I know, I read and I hear how you all make predictions in what's going to happen in the season,” Saban said. “I'd also like to make a note here that in the last 21 seasons, you as the media have only picked the right team four times to win the SEC. Now, if I was 4-17 as a coach, I would be back in West Virginia pumping my gas at my daddy's gas station.”</p><p>Yep, just another typical media day appearance for Saban — and the media laughed right along.</p><p>Now entering his seventh season in charge at Alabama, Saban spent time answering questions ranging from defending the no-huddle offense to the demands of scheduling the right opponents. He even was asked about being compared to legendary Tide coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. He had an interesting answer for that one.</p><p>“There's no way that we have done anything close to what he's done in terms of his consistency over time, how he changed what he did to impact the times,” said Saban, who has won four total BCS national championships and three with Alabama. Bryant won six titles. “They threw the ball and won. They ran the wishbone and won. I mean, he changed tremendously to do what he needed to do to be successful. I don't think that it would be fair that anyone really be compared to what he was able to accomplish, the way he did it, and how he impacted other people.”</p><p>There's no denying the game certainly has changed since Bryant's time, and a big difference now is the number of teams playing an up-tempo style game. Auburn coach Guz Malzahn made headlines Wednesday when he said he wanted the Tigers to play faster on offense than any other team in college football.</p><p>“I think preparation is really an important part of that,” Saban said. “When people play fast, I think it takes defensive players out of their rhythm a little bit. I think we obviously need to practice that way more often.”</p><p>But there's another component to it. The style of offense Auburn and other teams will be playing in 2013 has its detractors. </p><p>Arkansas coach Bret Bielema said Wednesday that it affects player safety, and Saban has been critical of it in the past.</p><p>“I don't know that there will ever be any rule changes that affect the up-tempo teams,” Saban said. “There's only two questions that I've ever had (and) I don't have the answer to these questions: Should we allow football to be a continuous game? Is that the way the game was designed to play? And the second part of it is, and I don't have the answer to this, is an increased number of plays that players play in the game, is there any safety issues in that? </p><p>“They play like 64 plays a game in the NFL. We play over 80 in college. The up-tempo teams play even more than that. </p><p>“The cumulative effect of that is a player is playing 25, 30 more plays a game. Is there any safety issues in that?”</p><p>Scheduling also was a big topic for Saban. He's in favor of a nine-game SEC schedule and, with the college football playoff just around the corner, he emphasized how important it was to play 10 quality opponents every year. </p><p>Earlier on Thursday, LSU coach Les Miles said scheduling should not in any way decide a championship, and every teams' path to a title should be equal.</p><p>“Yeah, but there can never be an equal path to the championship unless everybody plays everybody,” said Saban, whose Tide will cross over to play SEC East doormats Kentucky and Tennessee this season. LSU, meanwhile, must play heavyweights Florida and Georgia. “I understand where Les Miles is coming from. I coached at LSU. We played Florida every year, too. So if anybody understands it, I understand it. You understand? Aight? </p><p>“ My question is, is do other coaches understand our circumstance? </p><p>“Do they understand Auburn-Georgia circumstance? Do they understand the other teams in our league that do have rivalries that are cherished by the fans?”</p><p>One rivalry that may be ready to take off for Alabama is against Texas A&M. </p><p>The Aggies gave the Tide their only loss last season, and offensive lineman Anthony Steen apparently hasn't gotten over it.</p><p>“Obviously, we want to beat them by 50,” he said. “We see on TV every day that they beat us.”</p><p>A big reason for the loss was A&M quarterback and eventual 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel. The sophomore was grilled Wednesday at media days for what has been an interesting offseason, to say the least. </p><p>He left the Manning Passing Academy on Saturday under disputed circumstances. Manziel, a counselor at the camp, said he simply overslept and missed a camp activity, and camp officials couldn't reach him because his cellphone had died. </p><p>He deflected questions Wednesday about drinking alcohol the night before he left the Manning Passing Academy, leading to speculation he was hung over — which he vehemently denied.</p><p>Another twist in the saga was that Manziel revealed that Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron was his roommate at the camp. </p><p>Manziel said Wednesday that McCarron didn't wake him, but “I'm definitely not going to pin it on him. </p><p>“It's my fault — 115, 120 percent.”</p><p>McCarron was asked several times Thursday why he didn't wake Manziel.</p><p>“I can't answer on Johnny Manziel's part,” McCarron said. “My name's AJ. Everything that has to do with him, he's his own man. I'm not going to speak on another man's business. That's how I was raised. </p><p>“I know how I handle myself out in public, how I carry myself in front of people. That's what I'm worried about, trying to be the best player and the best person off the field that I can be for my family and the University of Alabama. I never want to disrespect them in any way.”</p>